Chapter 2: New Information

"Thanks, Azusa-san. You really are my favorite trader." Selene smiled at the tall older man.

He smiled back, "I thank you, Selene-san. You always bring me the most interesting things. Is this all?"

She nodded, "For today, leastwise. We're running low on funds."

"Time to attack another navy base, then?" He smiled when Selene nodded, "Then I've got some news you'll want to here." He looked around and lowered his voice, "The navy is going to be holding a huge ball in a few weeks. If you hightail it to the West Base, it'll be a perfect time for infiltration. A certain Admiral will be in attendance, to boot." He pulled back and winked.

"Really?" Selene's eyes widened and she smiled wickedly, handing him a few more coins just for the heck of it. "How positively perfect."

Admiral Klaus Goldstein ran a hand through his hair as he refocused on the set of papers before him. He was exhausted. Twenty-seven years old and already burning out. Last week they'd managed to capture a very rowdy crew of small-time pirates, but there'd been a lack of new rumors of the crew of the Elementress, particularly about its captain, the Silver Flame—meaning that she'd either been inactive for a few months or she was being extra careful to conceal her crime-doing—and not to mention he found out the previous day that the ship his little brother had been on, heading home for his summer vacation from school, was sunk in a storm. His mother had been distraught and hadn't, according to his father, left her room since. Elias, as the youngest, had always been doted on by their mother—a fact that neither he nor Percy had minded. Because they, too, dearly loved their brother, despite his lack of interest in gaining a governmental or military position like most men in their family. He was truly the baby of the family. And now he was gone.

There was a knock in the door, three crisp raps. Klaus stood up, hurriedly fixing the top buttons on his shirt. The door opened to reveal Fleet Admiral Walter Goldstein, his superior and his father. He looked older than when Klaus had seen him that morning. While Elias had never been liked as much by their father as the other two had been, Walter still loved his youngest son, and it was showed by his looking older by the hour.

"Sir." Klaus greeted. His father, in a rare show of not caring, waved his hand, "At ease, Klaus. I'm not in the mood for formality from you. You're my son right now, not my subordinate, and we're alone. Please, sit."

Klaus sat back down as his father pulled over the chair sitting by the door.

"Did you need something, father?"

Walter nodded stiffly, only once. "But not to start with. How are you holding up?"

"It's hard to believe he's gone." Klaus sighed, "No matter what my head says, my emotions are telling my head it's wrong, that Elias is still alive."

"I know how that feels, only mine is tinged with regret." His father's normally arrow-straight back stooped slightly, "I shouldn't have pushed him so hard towards a life he didn't want, nor should I have been so cold to him because of his lack of interest in that life. I'm ashamed to say that I don't even know what he did want to do." He rubbed his temples with his hands, looking more beaten down than Klaus had ever seen him.

"An inventor. He wanted to make new ship designs. He wanted to be able to aid the capture of criminals and the protection of people without having to directly do the fighting." Klaus said, causing his father to look up in surprise, surprise that softened to sorrow. "And he never begrudged you, father, in fact, he admired you. He didn't hate you for trying to push him to be his best. I know that he loved you and wouldn't want you to regret him."

And Walter Goldstein, for the first time in a very long time, smiled. It wasn't much, just a shaky upturn of the lips, but it spoke volumes. "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

Klaus felt better having said it, too. Like he was comforting himself, as well. "Did you need something else, father?"

Walter's expression became more professional once more, the pained father pushed back. "Yes. I need you to attend the Quinquennium West ball. I know you were originally going, as was your older brother, your mother, and I. And now, you'll have to go alone. Your mother couldn't take it, your brother had been deployed on an emergency call, and I have to stay with your mother. I know I can trust you to go and represent our family in the proper manner. Are you up to it?"

Klaus paused, "Yes, sir."

Elias was taken to an office of sorts, and sat in a chair. "I highly recommen' you don't touch anythin'. The Cap'n hates it when people go through her things withou' her permission. She'll be here in a minute or two—she's helpin' carry things to storage. I've gotta go help get the ship undocked. I'd just not move, if I were you. Do that, and you'll be just fine. she'll probably coo over you, seein' as you're the type of thing she'd deem 'cute'." The green-haired man snorted and left, locking the door behind him.

He sat there for a few moments. Should he get up and try to learn something? Or should he do as he was told? He couldn't decide and just as he was about to convince himself to get up the lock in the door turned. He hadn't even heard anyone approach. The door opened to reveal a smiling woman—he couldn't tell exactly how old she was, but she looked young. Only the aura about her made him think she might be older than she looked. She had short blond hair that had hints of a bronze color, with nicely tanned skin. If it weren't for the feminine features of her face, and the fact he knew the captain of this ship was a girl, he might have thought her a younger boy in the breeches and shirt she was wearing. He'd never seen a female wearing men's garb before, and it freaked him out a bit. It shouldn't be as natural as this woman made it look.

"Well, hello, lad." She said cheerfully, hopping over to the desk and sitting atop it, to face him, "You're Elias, right? You look just like your older brother, Kranky Klaus, you know. I've heard he looks like your father, but I've never had the displeasure of meeting the man."

He said nothing, staring at her wide-eyed. This had to be the Silver Flame. Who else would be crazy enough to insult his brother like that?

"Silent treatment, hmm? Eh, Oh is Well." She shrugged, seemingly undeterred from her happy-go-lucky attitude, "I'm Selene, the Captain of this beautiful ship, the Elementress. You can call me either Captain, or just Selene. I'm not much of one for formalities. Are you feeling any better? From what Katalina told me, you had a bump on your noggin, a bad fever, and were a dehydrated to boot. Oh, yeah, Katalina's the healer of the ship. She's about your age, to be honest, but a good lass who's quick to learn the healer's art. She'll be one of the best in the world one day, mark my words."

The Silver Flame sounded like a proud mother. This woman was downright confusing. The rumors made her out to be extremely tall and powerful, cruel and ruthless to everyone she came across. A dark creature of the depths of the ocean who raged on the innocent. How could this girl, who was only a few inches taller than him, with the carefree smile of a child, be the Silver Flame? She was no dark creature, in fact, she practically glowed with childish glee.

It had to be a trap. Act all nice and then get any possible secrets he might have then slit his throat and deliver him to his family in pieces. Yes, that sounded entirely possible, considering he was the prisoner of one of the most notorious criminals of the day.

She looked at him, head tilted and still smiling, "Hello? Are you going to answer? It's terribly rude to ignore people, Elias."

"Who said you could address me so familiarly?" He said, putting on his noble airs, trying to keep the scared tremble from his voice.

She laughed, "I did, silly. And relax, I'm not going to hurt you or grill you for secrets. You're ten years old. I highly doubt you know anything of actual importance that I don't already know. My first mate has an information network bigger and better than any military or government network, so why hurt people to learn things I already know? Seriously, why save you from the water just to kill you? That's counterproductive, 'specially since Katalina used up most of her stock of feverfew and morning dew weed to break that nasty fever. Well, to be honest, she was running low anyway. Another thing we'll restock up on soon." She sighed, shaking her head, "I better stop before I start trying to make a list of what we're short on. That's Serge's job. He's my quartermaster." She rubbed the back of her head, eyes closed and still smiling, "I've got to remind myself that that's not my job anymore. Serge is newer, you see, and I did the job before he joined." She paused, "Dang tangents. They always get me!" Then she laughed, "Now, let's take you up to the deck. You'll be with us for a handful of weeks, so we might as well be friendly. Mine's a fun crew, even if half of them are all calm and/or quiet." She hopped off the desk and went over to the door, opening it. She looked back at him, still in the chair, "You coming?"

He stood up and stiffly followed her, trying to make sense of the long dialogue she just released. She skipped along the narrow hallway like a child and up the short set of stairs that led to the deck. Elias blinked rapidly. Even compared to the Silver Flame's office, it was a lot brighter outside. His eyes adjusted and he saw a group of people pulling at the ship's rigging and getting the ship set to sail.

"It's a good seaward wind today." The Silver Flame twirled once, arms outstretched. "And a lovely sun to accompany it." She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Luca! Everything set? We're heading towards Jonny and his lot! Full speed! Time's shorter than I'd like as it is!"

"Aye Cap'n!" the green-haired man called back, pulling the ropes that kept the sail tied up. The pretty grey sails unfurled, immediately catching the wind. The ship jolted slightly and Elias knew that his chance to escape was gone. The boat quickly began picking up speed, and he watched wistfully as the port where they'd been docked grow smaller. He was a weak swimmer and there was no hope of surviving if he jumped and tried to make it.

"You wouldn't find help there anyway. More like harm. It's a pirate's haven, Elias, and plenty of people would love to give you to your brother in bits. He's captured a lot of friends and family of people not only there, but at most of the haven's on this half the world. Don't worry, though, where we're going no one'll hurt ya, not without having to answer to me and my lot." There was something slightly frightening in her smile, something that promised trouble to those who crossed her.

He decided he might as well dare a question. "And just where are we going?"

"To Jonny's place." She said cheerfully, "Of course, you'd better call him Captain John. King John works, too, but he prefers captain. Says "King" sounds to much like the stuffy european royalty. He's my adoptive father, and the current King of Pirates."

Elias nearly choked on air, "You're t-taking me to the Pirate King?!"

"Naw, not you specifically. I just need some aid for my next adventure, and who better to go to than my former Captain? You being here really has nothing to do with it, don't worry." She said, "Now, let's go meet the crew."

By now, the ship was sailing on it's own, and no one one was even at the wheel. Elias was awed. While this was a smaller ship than most navy battle vessels, it wasn't a tiny merchant or fishing ship. How did they get it to stay on course with so few people? It normally took a handful more to keep a ship this size going properly. There must be some trick to it. He'd just have to figure it out.

"Now, you've already met my first mate, Luca Orlem." She nudged the smiling man with the earring, who'd come up and put his arm around her shoulders.

"What'd I tell ya, Prince Elias?" He smirked, "yer just fine, ain't ya?"

"Don't call me that!" Elias snapped. This man was infuriating.

The Silver Flame slid from under the arm of the taller human and whacked said human upside the head, "One, don't antagonize. Two, what have I told you about that nonword?"

"I ain't gonna use it no more, honest!" The man chortled as he dodged another whack.

She glanced at Elias, "Ignore him. He's absolutely up to no good most of the time. Honestly, I think only reason he's first mate is because he's halfway-useful in a fight."

"Hey! I take offense to that Cap'n!"

"Yet you walked right into that one, Luca." A boy with brown hair and eyes walked up, smiling. Elias also noticed he wore an eyepatch. "Hello, there, I'm Merlin, the ship's sole Gunner. I also work most of the mechanics and whatnot. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about how the Elementress herself works—I'd know, seeing as I designed it and all. Now, you'll have to excuse me. I've got some repairs on a cannon to make." He gave a lazy wave before walking off, heading below deck.

"He has two working eyes." the Silver Flame commented, "That's just so he doesn't have to wait for his eyes to adjust to the darkness below deck, and then again when he comes up. He switches it between eyes, see." She tapped the side of her forehead, "He's clever, just like the rest of my crew. We have to be, to avoid your brother. He's a smart man, I'll admit, and sometimes he's come pretty dang close to winning. But we always pull ahead, in the end." She laughed, "Yuki! Lyra! Lina! Come over, will you?"

A dark haired youth with an eyepatch and a wolf—of all things!—at his heels was first to come.

"This is Yukiya, my Sailing Master. He figures out how to get where we want to go—not to mention he makes most of the food on this vessel. He's not a talkative one, that's for certain. But a kinder lad you'll never find." Selene introduced as Yukiya held out his hand. Elias hesitantly shook it. "And the wolf doesn't really have a name. Not that he'd respond to it if he did have one. Katalina calls him Wolfy, though." the Silver Flame added.

Two girls came behind him, one chattering and the other silently listening. The quiet older girl was the one who brought him the food earlier. Her brunette hair covered one eye and she wore a conservative lilac dress, with long, fitted sleeves, even in this heat. The only thing that kept it from being completely old-fashioned were the sturdy books peeking out from the slightly-too-short hem.

The other one was his age, and looked familiar—it was her. Elias hoped that the red in his face would be attributed to the warmth of the sun and not the fact that the girl looked a lot prettier in the light, with her brown pigtails bouncing as she skipped along.

"Philyra's the more reserved one. She's our all-around gal. She helps Yukiya will the cooking, mostly, and with the cleaning around the ship. Odd jobs and the like. Sorry to pull you away, Lyra, but do you and Yukiya mind getting the ship's navigation set for the King's Cove?" Philyra and Yukiya nodded, heading off. Selene turned to Elias and whispered, "Most of us on the ship are trying to set the two of them up. Philyra's so shy around him, though, and Yukiya is so distant that it's difficult to get him to think about things like romancin'. But we try. Those two are destined for each other."

"They are. Completely, entirely, truly soul mates." The other girl, who must be Katalina, cut in, giggling. "It's cute, funny, and a tad annoyin' how they keep going in circles around each other."

"Ah! That's right. This, Elias, is the crew's healer, Katalina. She's the newest member of our little family. It'll be her first time meeting Jonny, too. He knows of her, of course, because of Blayze." Selene said.

"Blayze is her messenger bird. No one can figure out his breed. He's odd, but sweet enough. He doesn't like Luca very much though, and'll peck him if he goes near. Can't blame him, though, seeing as Luca likes calling him a 'feather duster'." Katalina smiled at him, "You're lookin' much better, I must say." She suddenly leaned in really close and pressed her forehead to his. He flushed and jerked back, and she smiled. "Fever's completely gone, anyhow."

"Katalina, I've got a few things I need to do. Like get Serge to go and get me an updated inventory and help approximate the costs before I go crazier and do it myself. Do you mind showing Elias here around the ship? Yukiya's letting him use the spare cot in his room, so make sure he knows where that is."

Katalina nodded, "Gladly, Captain!"

Selene waved and skipped along to below deck, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Selene sighed and set the paper down. "Done. This is the highest possible cost, no?" It was shortly after sunset.

"Yup. But with your bargaining skills, you can probably work it down a third of the way. Even more if we nick some of this stuff right off." Serge confirmed. "Speaking of nicking, you had a look in your eye when you can back aboard. New idea?"

She nodded, "Oh heck yes. This might possibly be the most devious thing this crew has ever done, and, if it goes right, we'll be able to kill three birds with one stone."

"Three?"

"Yes. One, we'll get the lad we picked up home—I don't harm innocents, after all—two, we'll be able to get more than enough loot to restock, and three, I might just be able to gain another point over a certain Admiral." Selene said, gathering up the papers, smirking wickedly.

"Sounds like a bargain to me."

"Indeed."

…. …. ….

This crew was nothing like the tales he'd heard of—they did next to nothing that seemed remotely pirate-like. If fact, the only one who genuinely looked like a pirate was the first mate, and it was clear that he did it on purpose, with his odd, long green hair, single earring, and stereotypical curved sword. Not to mention the way he talked. Out of the entire crew, Elias liked Luca the least. The man was simply infuriating, and seemed to find great amusement in annoying the crap out of him. At one point, however, he'd found the man with a sketchbook, legs dangling over the edge of the ship. He was drawing a woman, with a warrior's armor and a sword pointed outward, towards the person whose perspective was seeing her. She looked annoyed.

"Who's she?" Elias asked before he could stop himself. The likeness looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her.

"Marelda Krammer. Female warrior, one of the best in the land." He said, oddly proud, "And I'm proud to say that I'm hopelessly in love with her." He sighed making a dramatic hand motion, "Alas! My feelings are but unreturned, for her's is a cold heart of copper, one she keeps polished, to prevent the tarnish of love from reaching it."

Elias gave him a look, confused and a little weirded out. He knew Ms. Krammer. She'd worked with Klaus on several occasions. How Luca was in love with such an intimidating person, he'd never understand.

Katalina, the pretty lass his age, was thrilled that there was someone her age on board, and spent a lot of time with him. Despite his curt manner around her, he quite liked the girl. She was sweet, albeit her tendency to chatter, and loved being able to learn things about medicine from him—it was another one of the many things Elias had to study for certain classes about (though it was mostly about the plants and their properties). If Elias had to choose, she'd be his favorite. She was so more open and happy and playful than most of the girls he knew growing up, so quick to grin with all her heart.

Yukiya, the youth with whom he shared a room, seemed like a decent fellow, if a little untalkative. Philyra, the quiet girl, was almost like a phantom, and just faded into the background unless Selene pulled her from it.

Yes. The Silver Flame was probably the most peculiar person he'd ever met. Truly the exception to every rule, she managed to defy normal logic and reason with her own unique brand of the stuff. Not to mention that she consistently contradicted herself in the most humorous of ways—to keep everyone on their toes, Katalina informed him, because Selene always said it was the people who let their heels down were the ones who were to slow to save themselves from the unexpected.